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The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has confirmed that the 2022 BWF World Tour Finals has been moved from China to Thailand, due to Covid-19 concerns.
The tournament was due to be held in Guangzhou from 14th to 18th December and was set to be first international badminton event held in China since 2019.
However, the current Covid situation in China means the finals will now take place at the Nimibutr Arena in Bangkok from 7th to 11th December.
The list of athletes qualified for the finals will be confirmed on 22nd November after the Australian Open. The event sees the top eight players and pairs in each category compete for a prize pool of US$1.5 million, the largest available in badminton.
‘BWF in consultation with the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) agreed to relocate the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 due to the various challenges brought about by the current pandemic situation,’ said the BWF.
‘BWF would like to thank CBA, Guangzhou City Government, and Guangzhou Sports Bureau for their extraordinary work.
‘BWF would also like to thank the Badminton Association of Thailand for providing a replacement location for the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 at such late notice.’
